1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field instant messaging, and more particularly to a method of and system for delaying the sending of, and/or retracting, instant messages according to a configurable policy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Instant messaging has become very popular and useful both in the workplace and in individual social personal computing. During instant messaging, however, messages are often erroneously sent to the wrong party. For example, a new window can pop in front of the current chat window. The user, not realizing that a new window is the focus window, may respond to a previous message from another party and send a message to the new party. Similarly, the sender could maximize the wrong window and type and send a message to the wrong party. Currently, instant messages cannot be retracted once they are sent. The inability to retract instant messages often leads to confusion and/or embarrassment.